


What hope had wrought

by bisexualowain



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates, Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Comfort, Gen, M/M, Mild Angst, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-02
Updated: 2018-03-02
Packaged: 2019-03-26 04:00:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13849638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bisexualowain/pseuds/bisexualowain
Summary: Brady finds his husband in a moment of emotional vulnerability.





	What hope had wrought

Brady awoke under many heavy blankets, amid the warm coziness of the bed. The dark room, unfamiliar to his eyes when he opened them, gradually unveiled itself to him and he realized he was home.

Nuzzling his fluffy pillow, he begged the sun itself for just a few more minutes of slumber, not feeling nearly as well rested as he should be to tackle another day at the clinic. 

Peering at the general direction of the window, he realized his wish might just have been granted, as no beam of morning light shone between the curtains.

Rubbing his eyes, and the itchy scar he had above his left one, Brady realized something was off about this situation. 

Peeling the blankets off his body, Brady pawed at the right side of his bed in the dark, not finding any trace of his husband, who was a much heavier sleeper than he was. 

While not unheard of for Owain to wake up in the middle of the night, usually to make himself a snack, something about this felt strange.

Rising to a seating position, Brady stretched his arms before buttoning the topmost buttons of his night shirt and then leaving the bed. 

“Owain?” he called, his tone low and his voice deeper than usual from having just woken up. Without a response, the healer headed out the door of their room.

Walking down the hallway, Brady noticed no candles had been lit. An even stranger sight for his husband, who would light them with fire magic nearly always.

Just as he was passing by the door to Ophelia’s bedroom, a small noise caught his ear and when he leaned against the door, his brow furrowed, recognizing it to be some sort of whimpering.

After a light knocking on the door, Brady opened it. Much like they had after he woke up, his eyes took a few seconds to adjust to the darkness, but when they did, Brady felt his chest tighten.

Sitting on the floor next to Ophelia’s bed, Owain sobbed quietly into his hands, his back against the wall. 

Momentarily afraid for their daughter, Brady focused his attention on her, finding nothing to be concerned about as he saw her sleeping figure over the small bed.

“Owain?” he called meekly. “Owain, are ya alright?”

Snapping his head at Brady’s direction, Owain hurried wiped the tears off his face. “Brady? Oh… I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

Noticing Owain’s attempt to hide that he’d been crying, Brady slowly made his way over to him, making sure not to step on any of Ophelia’s toys, which littered the floor of her room.

“I ain’t worried about that, right now,” Brady clarified, kneeling next to Owain. “What’s goin’ on? Did somethin’ happen?”

Owain shook his head. “It-it’s really nothing. I shouldn’t even be here… I’m gonna end up waking her too, at this rate.”

Sitting next to Owain, Brady stretched his legs. Next to his husband’s, they were noticeably longer, but much thinner. He sighed deeply before speaking.

“Y’know… there’s a certain someone who’s always tellin’ me that it’s a’ight to cry. Can’t say I always believe ‘im, but I’m glad he’s in my life, all the same.”

Chuckling softly, Owain scratched at the back of his neck, turning slightly to face Brady. “They sound like a great person... whoever they are.”

“He’s the greatest guy I know, maybe even the best one out there,” Brady snorted, shaking his head before adding. “Even if he is a total jackfart.”

Owain giggled, wiping another tear that had just formed at the corner of his eyes. 

“I think ya should take his advice, Owain,” Brady said, placing his arm over the man’s shoulder and bringing him closer, much as Owain had done for him before many, many times. “Can ya tell me what’s wrong?”

Sobbing twice more, Owain drowned out his cries, clearing his throat before he attempted to explain. Looking Brady in the eyes, he spoke.

“Our daughter, she… looks so much like her, Brady.”

Though Owain’s words took Brady a while to process, he felt his heart tighten when he understood what they meant. 

Composing himself, Owain reached his hand over to Ophelia’s bed and he gently stroked her long golden hair. “I’ve noticed it before, but I kept quiet. I shouldn’t have kept quiet.”

Out of words, Brady leaned to the side and rested his head on Owain’s shoulder. His attempts to steady his own breathing were made much easier when he tried to match Owain’s.

“Owain… I gotta tell ya this, but I… noticed it too,” he admitted. “Not so much when she was real lil’ but… the resemblance got kinda hard to ignore later on. Sorry I didn’t say nothin’. I let ya carry that burden alone.”

Taking a deep breath, Owain reached over and gave Brady a kiss on the top of his head, and after Brady turned to look at him, the couple exchanged a quick, somber kiss.

“It’s just as much my fault as it’s yours. Please don’t blame yourself alone,” Owain said, nuzzling his head against Brady’s. “It’s… not easy to bring it up, is it?”

“Suppose not,” Brady replied. “Still… why does she look like her?”

"I don’t know,” Owain put it bluntly. Unlike his many wild theories and stories, this one had stumped him. Perhaps due to it being so real. “I always thought she resembled my mother… I didn’t realize that girl did too.”

“I never told anyone… after that day back in our past, I mean,” Brady clarified. “How ‘bout you?”

“No,” Owain shook his head. “It pains me to say this, but I couldn’t bear to admit how I failed her.”

“How we failed her,” Brady interjected. “I was the one that tried to heal her, remember?”

Owain nodded, looking up at the dark ceiling. “I know there was nothing we could have done – we got there too late to save her, but...”

“It still hurts,” Brady finished the sentence. “All the same, yeah? I think about ‘er from time to time, guess ya do, too.”

Owain nodded once again. “Yeah. Yeah it does, even after all these years.”

“Ya know ya can cry with me too, right?” Brady said, caressing Owain’s hair. “Don’t gotta act the hero all the time.”

Placing his hand above Brady’s, Owain pecked him in the cheek. “I know… I should remember that.”

Helping him to his feet, Brady brought Owain close for a hug, and in silence, the couple took comfort in an embrace.

“We’ll take care of her this time,” Owain promised, his voice much clearer and determined.

“Yeah,” Brady assured his husband, holding him even tighter. “Maybe that’s… that’s why they look so much alike. That’s a possibility, innit?”

“I think so… we know fate works in strange ways,” Owain commented, cupping Brady’s cheeks with his hands before kissing him softly.

Before they left the room, Owain leaned closer to Ophelia’s bed, pecking her gently on the head, before Brady adjusted the blankets to cover her. 

After they shut the door, Brady spoke again. “Remember what she told you, back then?”

“You mean about how you used to tell your patients about my exploits?” Owain smiled, taking Brady’s hand in his as they started to walk through the corridor, back to their room.

“Exactly. They always loved it, ya know?” Brady said. “It gave them hope for the future… just as ya have given me.”

Brady could barely finish that sentence before Owain’s body was against his again. Hugging the priest’s body so tightly he almost couldn’t breathe.

“You’re my hope too… and we’re hers,” Owain whispered in Brady’s ear, motioning towards Ophelia’s room.

“Maybe we’re not such losers, after all,” Brady laughed, melting in Owain’s arms before they resumed all the cuddling in bed.

**Author's Note:**

> If you haven't read translations for the Awakening CD Dramas, I encourage you to do so. Specially the third one, as it details a lot about the second gen's lives before they traveled to the past to stop Grima's ascension, and they're actually canon.
> 
> In particular, there is a scene in which Owain and Brady dig through the rubble of the destroyed clinic Brady used to be in charge of, and they find an injured little girl barely clinging to life. Before passing away, she reveals that Brady used to tell them about Owain to give them hope.
> 
> I'd like to think her story could have ended differently in another time...


End file.
